Summer School Blues

Your kid didn’t dissect her frog in Bio—and she bombed a few tests, too. Now she has to repeat the class. Help motivate her learning and ease her bummed-about-summer-school mood with these scholarly strategies.

Study the options

Parent-teacher conferences and under-60 grades will give you fair warning that your child might not pass a class, so plan for summer study early. Find out about options in your district or community before the end of the school year if possible. Schedule everything else—camp, music lessons, your summer vacay—around impending classes.

Know the drill

If your own school offers a summer program, so much the better. If not, learn the expectations of your child’s regular courses to ensure that the content, duration and grading of the summer school class will meet the requirements and help her achieve what she needs to succeed.